Early Release

———Ever since Sakura told Sasuke that her idea was accepted, he became a lot more reserved. He rarely answered her, he never once looked at her, and he wouldn't sit next to her. Sakura was confused by this but whenever she questioned him about it, his face would somehow grow colder than it already was.

Eventually, Sakura decided that it'd be best to leave him be. She would continue to visit him but the both of them would sit in silence, deep in their thoughts. Even when Naruto would accompany Sakura on some visits, the two would remain quiet, leaving Naruto talking to himself and feeling awkward.

—September 308:00 a.m.—

Sakura was called in to the Hokage's office the day prior. She wasn't sure why and this worried her. She rushed to the office as quickly as she could and prepared for the worst.

When she walked in, she saw Naruto standing in front of the Hokage's desk, talking to Kakashi. "What's going on? Did something happen?" Sakura asked worryingly as she walked up to the two.

"Wow, no 'hi' or 'how's your day going'?" Naruto asked teasingly, nudging her shoulder.

Sakura sighed and looked at Naruto, annoyed. "I'm not in the mood for your jokes right now." she asserted before turning to Kakashi with a concerned look on her face, "Why are we here, Kakashi-Sensei?"

Kakashi smiled under his mask. "I wanted to personally inform the two of you that Sasuke will be getting released from prison early. And before you-" Kakashi said before being cut off.

Naruto and Sakura's eyes widened and the two looked at each other with disbelief and excitement before turning back to Kakashi. The two immediately bombarded Kakashi with questions: "Really?!", "Why is he getting released early?", "When will he be released?!?!", "Will he get to go on missions with him again???". The two were ecstatic about the news they've just received and that was enough to make Kakashi chuckle lightly.

"If the two of you had let me finish talking, you would've gotten answers to all of your questions." Kakashi said. Naruto and Sakura calmed down but were still smiling ear to ear. "Yes, he's really being released. As for why...well it's due to his contributions during The Ninja War. He'll be released at noon tomorrow. And what he wants to do is his own decision, so ask him...not me. Anything else you want to ask?"

"No, that's all from me." Naruto said. Sakura nodded in agreement before he continued. "I can't believe he's really going to be released! We have to go talk to him about this!"

"Yea! This is great!" Sakura said before looking at Kakashi, "Do you mind if we go visit him now, Kakashi-Sensei?"

Kakashi shook is head. "Since he's being released tomorrow, he's not allowed to have visitors right now as the prison prepares for that. Plus, I plan on surprising him with this news tomorrow."

Naruto and Sakura's smiles softened, sort of disappointed that they couldn't talk to Sasuke about this, but still understanding....

The three engaged in some small talk before Naruto and Sakura left the office. The two were walking quietly down the streets of the village in attempts to pass time.

"Do you think...Sasuke will leave the village again once he's out?" Sakura asked solemnly.

Naruto looked at her confused. "I mean...I wouldn't put it past him to do something like that but I sure hope not. Not after everything we've gone through to get him back." he said as he put his hands behind his head.

Sakura sighed. With the way Sasuke has been behaving these last few months, she was certain that he'd leave if he got the chance. Sakura tried to hold back her tears but it was not enough to hide the sad look on her face.

Noticing her sorrow, Naruto tried to lighten the mood. "If he does leave, then that stubborn bastard is gonna be down two arms instead of one!" he chuckled.

That was enough to make Sakura smile lightly. "Yea but so will you; don't forget that you lost an arm in that battle too~" Sakura teased.

Naruto rolled his eyes playfully and laughed.

Despite the worry that filled Sakura and Naruto's minds, the two managed to cheer each other up. They were grateful to one another for the close bond that they shared....

—October 111:00 a.m.*Sasuke's Perspective*—

Sakura and Naruto hadn't shown up to visit him yesterday. It was pretty normal for Naruto to skip visits due to his studying, but Sakura hadn't missed a  single visit. Not only did she miss yesterday's visit, but she was running late today too. This irked him. He sat on his bed staring at the floor thinking of all the possible reasons for why she hadn't come to see him.

At first, he was sad — believing that he was being too cold with her and maybe she'd had enough of him. But then, he began to worry. He started to think that she might've gone on a mission and got seriously injured — or worse...killed.

He couldn't help but be upset with himself for allowing Sakura to instill so many strong feelings within him but he was also thankful for this; after all he's been through, he worried that he'd lost his capability to feel and care for others. But Sakura was able to remind him that he hadn't completely lost his humanity. Sasuke kept his emotions together but was starting to become impatient. Although he wouldn't admit it to himself, he really wanted to see Sakura....

Sasuke remained in his thoughts for a while before he heard footsteps coming his was. They didn't sound like Sakura's usual light, hurried footsteps or Naruto's loud and rambunctious footsteps so he didn't pay them any mind. That's when he heard a familiar voice.

"Good morning, Sasuke. I hope that prison life hasn't been treating you too badly."

He looked up and saw Kakashi standing next to two prison guards. Sasuke hadn't seen him in about a year...around the time he was first locked up. Sasuke didn't really care to see him though so he returned to staring at the floor.

Kakashi sighed as he recognized that familiar 'go away' expression that Sasuke had on his face. He was clearly not in a good mood. "Today's your lucky day. You're getting out early." Kakashi said with a smile.

Sasuke returned his gaze to Kakashi. "Really?" he said quietly with a confused look on his face.

"Yes, really. Come with me and I'll explain the details. And while we're at it, tell me what your plans are." Kakashi said.

The guards let Sasuke out of his cell and Kakashi and Sasuke went into a room inside the prison to have a private chat...———

This is the end of the chapter! I hope you enjoyed!

{A/N: So as I've mentioned in the beginning, I don't 100% remember everything that happened nor do I know what happened in the manga. So I'm going to be writing based off of what I remembered happening in the anime...but some things I'm going to have to fill in the blank so sorry if it's not SUPER accurate!}